Loaded 2008 recruiting class fueled Alabama's rise

Jan. 3, 2013
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At Alabama, center Barrett Jones (75), shown here after a victory over LSU in November, has been a four-year starter, a three-time member of the All-America team, and has won two national titles. He is part of a 2008 Crimson Tide recruiting class that many rank among the best ever in college football. / Derick E. Hingle, US TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

Nick Saban and the Alabama football coaching staff didn't sell former Crimson Tide defensive lineman Marcell Dareus on immediate playing time, though there was plenty available heading into the 2008 season, Saban's second as the coach of the Crimson Tide.

While other coaches and programs spoke to Dareus about the opportunity for individual achievement â?? early playing time, a guaranteed spot on the depth chart â?? Saban and Alabama's recruiting pitch centered on three guarantees, each either team-related or focused on individual improvement off the field.

"The thing that coach Saban and coach (Kevin) Steele told me, they told me three things to get me to come to 'Bama," Dareus said. "They said, 'I promise you we're going to win, I promise you you'll get your degree, I promise you you will become a better man than when you came in.'

"When they told me that, that was all I needed to hear. And I'm trying to get my degree, coming back to school. We won. And I'm a way better man than when I came."

In the winter of 2008, Dareus bought into Saban's vision, as did 31 other signees. While Saban's first class, compiled on the fly during the winter of 2007, was ranked as the 10th-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision by the recruiting site Rivals.com, Alabama's recruiting took off with the class of 2008, a group that Rivals ranked No. 1 â?? and now stands as one of the most star-studded in the game's history.

"Probably the best recruiting class I've ever been associated with or been a part of assembling," Saban said of the 2008 group. "I think the evaluation was good and I think the development of the players was really good. Lot of good people in that class. Honestly, the amount of success that they've had certainly indicates the competitive nature that they have and the kind of people they are, as well as their ability."

Five members of the class have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft: defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (third overall in 2011), wide receiver Julio Jones (sixth overall in 2011), safety Mark Barron (seventh overall in 2012), linebacker Dont'a Hightower (25th overall in 2012) and running back Mark Ingram (28th overall in 2011).

Another two players, defensive tackle Terrence Cody and linebacker Courtney Upshaw, were taken in the second round in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Tight end Brad Smelley went in the seventh round of the 2012 draft.

Three additional members of the 2008 class, now competing as fifth-year seniors, are projected to be picked in the 2013 NFL draft, according to NFLDraftScout.com: Center Barrett Jones, safety Robert Lester and tight end Michael Williams.

"As a college coach, when you sign a normal class, like around 25 kids, you hope that half of those kids end up being impact players for your team," said Jeremy Crabtree, the senior coordinator for ESPN's Recruiting Nation. "I think it's kind of unprecedented to have as many players end up being drafted like that. You just kind of step back and shake your head and marvel at the job Nick Saban and his staff did that year in that class."

The 2008 class has provided the backbone for college football's newest dynasty. The Crimson Tide, 60-7 since the start of the 2008 season, are one victory from a third national title in four years. That would be a first in the BCS era, which began in 1998. Alabama also would be the first FBS team to win three national championships over a four-year span since Nebraska did so in 1994, 1995 and 1997.

Alabama's worst finish in the past five years came in 2010, when the Crimson Tide followed up a national championship by going 10-3. Three of Saban's past five teams have won at least 12 games: 2008, 2011 and 2012. The 2009 team went 14-0.

In short, the achievements of this one recruiting class are nearly unparalleled in the modern history of college football.

"To do something like this and have these guys end up laying the foundation for a dynasty and also end up becoming impact draft players," Crabtree said, "that's something that I don't know if I've ever seen in the years I've done this."

'Great year in-state'

By the time Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007, Alabama was 15 years removed from its last national championship -- Gene Stallings' 13-0 squad in 1992. But Stallings and his successors -- Mike DuBose, Dennis Franchione and Mike Shula -- combined to go 87-67 from 1995-2006, winning 10 games in a season four times (the 2005 wins were later vacated due to NCAA sanctions) but also suffering four losing seasons.

Saban's arrival was well-timed for two reasons. First, the high school junior class in Alabama was unusually talented. Barron, Dareus and Upshaw were among 18 prospects from the state of Alabama to sign with the Crimson Tide in 2008. "It was a great year in-state," Saban said.

Another nine states were represented, mostly in the Southeast: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Alabama also dipped into Texas, Virginia and West Virginia for players, and even went north to Flint, Mich., to grab Ingram, the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner.

Second, Saban was aided by the fact that he could visit high schools and prospects in person during the 2007 spring evaluation period. The next spring the NCAA passed a rule prohibiting head coaches from making in-person visits during the spring. The legislation became known as the "Saban rule," a reference to his frequent and ultimately fruitful visits to high school campuses.

"I was still allowed to go out on the road, so I got to see most of those guys practice," Saban said. "So we kind of knew some of those guys weren't as highly recruited, maybe Dont'a Hightower, when I saw him practice I thought, 'Wow, this guy is going to be a really good player.' We got going on him early."

There was something about Saban's message that struck a chord, says Barrett Jones, a multiple-time All-American and one of four fifth-year seniors starting for this year's team, which meets Notre Dame on Jan. 7 in the BCS National Championship Game.

"Every coach has a pitch that, 'Here we're gonna win championships,'" Jones said. "But when coach gave us that same pitch it was just different because he had a plan as to exactly how he was gonna do it.

"For some reason when he gives you that pitch you just believe it. I don't really know why â?? but obviously it's worked out."

Saban recalled, "I think a lot of the players probably saw opportunity for themselves here, you know. It was a new program, new start. They would have a chance to play. Maybe could see themselves playing."

The class bought into what Alabama was trying to accomplish right from the start, according to Saban. "I think that that whole class, thinking of the kind of commitments that they made to the university at the time -- when we weren't successful -- probably was the key to us getting things turned around here."

Knew 'we were destined'

Buying in meant understanding and appreciating Saban's unique letter-by-letter plan for creating the most dominant program in college football â?? a blueprint known as "the Process."

"It was just amazing," Jones said. "I'd never met a coach that had as much attention to detail as he had. He had every â?? he knew about every facet of our lives and how he was gonna help us be successful in that."

As a group, the members of Alabama's 2008 recruiting class spoke of winning a national championship in year three â?? the 2010 season. But the Crimson Tide's first championship under Saban came a year earlier, in 2009, when members of the 2008 class were either redshirt freshmen or true sophomores.

"When we all got to Alabama we knew that we'd win a championship in three years," Dareus said. "We did it in two. So I knew that we were destined for something."

Jones notes the important role the class served in rejuvenating an Alabama football program mired in a decade-plus-long rut.

"We pretty much know about all the winning traditions of that class," Cody said. "Everybody still talks about that class to this day, a lot of the great things we did."

That it put Alabama back on the map will be the legacy of the 2008 group. Jones, Lester, Williams and defensive lineman Damion Square, the lone holdovers from the class, will look to add one final footnote to the group's resume on Monday.

"My class, when we came here we wanted to change the culture of Alabama football," Jones says. "That's obviously what coach (Saban) wanted to do too, was change the way that people perceived it. We've obviously done that and we'll continue to do it, hopefully."

What happened to the 2008 Alabama recruiting classPlayerPositionCareer notesMark BarronSFirst-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2012.Undra BillingsleyDEReserve. Finished career in 2011.Devonta BoltonN/ADid not meet academic requirements.John Michael BoswellOGFour-year contributor.Terrence CodyDTSecond-round pick of Baltimore in 2010.Marcell DareusDEFirst-round pick of Buffalo in 2011.Robby GreenSMade six starts, left after sophomore season.Glenn HarbinDL/LBLeft team to play baseball at Alabama.Jerrell HarrisLBStarting linebacker on 2012 team.Dont'a HightowerLBFirst-round pick of New England in 2012.Destin HoodN/ASigned to play professional baseball.Mark IngramRBFirst-round pick of New Orleans in 2011.Chris JacksonWRTransferred to Georgia Tech after on season.Star JacksonQBTransferred after two seasons on team.Barrett JonesOLMember of 2012 team. Won Outland Trophy in 2011.Julio JonesWRFirst-round pick of Atlanta in 2011.Chris JordanLBFour-year contributor at linebacker.Alonzo LawrenceDBTransferred after one season on team.Robert LesterDBMember of 2012 team. Three-year starter.Brandon LewisDL/TETwo-year reserve after starting at junior college.Tyler LoveOLReserve. Finished career in 2011Ivan MatchettRBWas medical redshirt after playing one season.Kerry MurphyDTPart-time starter and reserve. Had injury issues.Wesley NeighborsDBInjury problems limited career.Jermaine PreyearRBTransferred to Alabama State after one season.Melvin RayN/ASigned to play professional baseball.Burton ScottDBTransferred to South Alabama after sophomore year.Brad SmelleyTESeventh-round pick of Cleveland in 2012Corey SmithKTransferred to West Virginia after freshman year.Damion SquareDLMember of 2012 squad. Three-year starter.Courtney UpshawLBSecond-round pick of Baltimore in 2012.Michael WilliamsTEMember of 2012 squad. Three-year starter.